1923 Worthington Blue Bird Golf Ball Mold

   This golf ball mold comes from the Worthington Golf ball plant located in Elyria, Ohio. It had operated since the early 1900's and it was in the early 90's that they were bought out by the Ben Hogan Company. Some years back these were found in a back room at the factory where they were stored in small wooden boxes. Some were in poor shape with rust on them while others like this one cleaned up very well. It was in the 1960's or 70's when the president of Worthington became aware of the ball molds from one of the workers. The molds ranged in age from a bramble mold from 1899 to a 1960's golf ball mold. As an avid golf fan the president of Worthington decided to make balls using present day technology. So the company put together a series of 12 golf balls that they called the "Anthology Of The Golf Ball". These molds are from that find. A single ball mold may be used for a variety of end-use golf balls. This is a common practice in the early 1900's as it is today. Spalding and Wilson use a single ball mold to manufacture a variety of brand name balls. Due to this, the stamping of the ball with the name is one of the last processes done in manufacturing. This is why so many molds do not have wording on their poles. With this mold, you will also receive a golf ball center and surlyn covers of the ball.